Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Unleash American Drilling Act”.
Unleash American Drilling Act
A BILL
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue decisions on applications for permits to drill that have been frozen in contravention of the spirit of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Amendments to the Mineral Leasing Act
Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
“(3) Deadline for decision on permits
“(A) In general—The Secretary shall issue a decision on a permit not later than 90 days after the applicant for a permit has submitted a complete application if the Secretary—
“(i) has not yet issued or deferred the permit under paragraph (2) within the 30-day period specified in such paragraph; or
“(ii) has deferred the permit under paragraph (2)(B), and there are no steps the applicant is required to take for the permit to be issued pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(i).
“(B) Mandatory issuance—If the Secretary does not issue a decision under subparagraph (A) within the 90-day period specified in such subparagraph, the permit shall be considered issued.”
Sec. 3 BLM Report to Congress on permitting backlog
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Committees on Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the backlog of applications for permits to drill, including—
the extent of the backlog;
reasons for the backlog, including—
limitations on resources; and
statutory and administrative barriers to clearing the backlog;
steps the Bureau of Land Management can take to clear the backlog; and
recommendations to Congress for financial assistance or statutory actions to help clear the backlog.